


Promises We Can Make

by anticyclone



Category: Hidden Legacy Series - Ilona Andrews
Genre: Confessions, Eventual Romance, Family, Getting Together, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:47:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22705702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anticyclone/pseuds/anticyclone
Summary: "When you called and said someone was trying to kill you, and that you were leaving, I-" Cornelius stopped. Leaned back slightly. He left his hand curled over the back of Augustine's neck. "You understand why I asked you to stay here, right?"Of course Augustine understands. Augustine understands that he wants something he cannot have, and that he's reading too much into friendly concern. He understands that he's indulged himself in an emotional connection the laws of magic guarantee won't be returned. He understands that taking MatildaandZeus to the art museum was not the best decision for an afternoon of babysitting, even before he got the call about the death threat.Cornelius understands some things, too. But it's going to take slightly more to get Augustine on the same page.
Relationships: Cornelius Harrison/Augustine Montgomery
Comments: 9
Kudos: 27
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 5





	Promises We Can Make

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sadlikeknives](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadlikeknives/gifts).



It had been the wrong day to agree to emergency babysitting.

Augustine knelt. "Matilda," he said. "I need you to listen carefully."

Both Matilda and Zeus focused on him very intently. It was unnerving.

Augustine had been a teenager when his siblings had come into the world, so he was used to looking down and finding small faces staring at him intently. But his mother was allergic to most things with fur and had a distaste for things without it, so Zeus's stare felt as alien as he imagined an actual housecat's would have. (Or so he told himself.)

He had pulled them into a stairwell marked 'staff only' that had been left propped open. Judging from the vicious lemon scent, apparently it had been to air it out after a cleaning. He needed to do this quickly.

"Are you good at keeping secrets?"

"Daddy says if someone asks me to keep a secret, I should ask them why," Matilda said.

Augustine paused, because that was a good parenting policy. Cornelius was already going to be upset. Giving him another reason to be was a bad idea.

But they didn't have a lot of time. The two of them - he had that thought, Zeus blinked, and he amended it to: The three of them needed to get out of this museum as discreetly as possible. Explaining why to Matilda would be potentially upsetting. Not explaining why would be potentially dangerous.

"You know that I run a … security company," Augustine started.

"Like Captain Simon," Matilda said.

Augustine blinked. His siblings were older than Matilda, but he understood that reference. Captain Simon had been the sidekick to the last cartoon Disney princess. He'd lead the royal guard. "Uh. Yes," he said. "Like Captain Simon. The phone call I just received was to warn me that there are some bad people in this building. I'm going to have to disguise us, which is why I asked you about secrets. We need to leave without looking suspicious."

"Are they here for me?" Matilda asked, in a tiny voice. Next to her, Zeus's pupils had gone wide.

"No, no," Augustine promised, laying his hand on her shoulder. It did not seem like a prudent idea to explain that they were here for him. "But we should sneak out without _looking_ like we're sneaking out. Does that make sense?"

If this had been a Montgomery family outing, he would've then instructed his brother and sister to call up a generic disguise. Something that wouldn't look like them at a glance so no one would be tempted to look their way twice. Augustine would make sure that their magic was set in place, make a disguise to complement whatever they had picked, and the three of them would leave. But this was not a Montgomery family outing and Matilda could not disguise herself.

Also, they had Zeus to contend with. If someone didn't look twice at Zeus, it was because Zeus was finished with them.

"How are we going to do that?"

"Do you think Zeus could act like a dog until we get to the car?"

Zeus's whiskers twitched. His mouth opened just enough to reveal long fangs, and a soft cascade of chirps rolled out of his throat.

Matilda looked solemnly at Augustine. She said, "No."

"That's all right," Augustine said, rapidly recalculating.

All right. He could work with this. He had to work with this, so he would. He hadn't wanted to use the back door because it was too obvious, but maybe if they used the side door. There was no reason that anyone would know he had Matilda today. The people after him would not have had time to access and scan through the museum's security footage. According to the call he'd received, all they had to go on was the presence of his car in the lot, and his people had a different car waiting for him.

Museum staff already knew that Zeus was in the building. Zeus had also certainly made a larger impression on any of them than Augustine himself had. Perhaps…

He sighed. Cornelius was never going to ask him to babysit again.

***

They exited the stairwell. The magnetic sculpture exhibit he'd brought Matilda here to see was, regrettably, toward the back of the museum. That meant they had to leisurely stroll along a couple of corridors before reaching a public stairwell. One that wouldn't draw alarm from anyone who saw them leaving it.

It lead to a side entrance that was only unlocked during special events. As they approached, a woman in a red vest with a museum name tag walked up to them.

"I'm sorry, sir," she started, "but."

Augustine waited. At this point he had watched Cornelius watching enough people react to Zeus that he knew to wait. Everyone needed a couple of seconds to process the sight of the giant cat, the fact that the giant blue cat did not have his big scary mouth open (because Matilda had asked as seriously as possible for him to keep it closed), and the fact that the giant blue demon cat was sitting next to a small child who was completely unafraid of it.

In ten years or so, when Matilda was older, she would have to adjust her strategy for walking around in public with a demon cat. But for now, just being a third-grader worked.

"This… This entrance is closed," the woman said, as her thoughts started up again. She willfully looked away from Zeus and up at Augustine. "You can use the front exit. Would you like me to show you the way?"

"No, I'm sorry," Augustine said, smiling at the woman. He had practiced this briefly in the employee stairwell, so Matilda wouldn't startle at the sound of her father's voice coming out of his mouth. "My daughter isn't feeling well. Zeus gets a little anxious when she's upset."

"Zeus," the woman said. Augustine found her name tag. Alie. "Ah. Of course. Zeus is, um. They told us Zeus was here."

Augustine called a warm smile to his face. Warm smiles came easily enough to Cornelius, so he was sure his impression was spot on. If Matilda had been watching a recording of him instead of gripping his hand for dear life, he thought he could even fool her. He hadn't looked at a photograph before setting this illusion into place. He knew well enough what Cornelius looked like. Especially when he was smiling, but even when he wasn't.

It was a good thing Matilda wasn't a teenager. A teenager might have asked why Augustine had her father's face memorized.

"You understand why we wanted to avoid the front door," he said. "We don't want to be any trouble, Ms. Alie. Would you be able to show us a quiet way out of the museum?"

"Of - Of course, Mr. Um. Mr."

"Daddy's name is Cornelius," Matilda said, enunciating. When Alie looked down at her, she glanced at Augustine, then stuck out her lower lip. "I have a stomachache. I want to go home."

That was Zeus's cue to touch his forehead to Matilda's shoulder and peer up at Alie. The frill of tentacles around his face went limp, and his eyes became all pupil. Together the pair of them made a completely pathetic sight. If Zeus had been a fox instead of a demon cat, it would have been a picture worthy of the last Disney movie. Which did make Augustine, to his slight unnerved horror, Captain Simon. Minus the sword.

It worked like a charm.

Alie not only did not make them use the front door, she took them to an employee exit that let into a side yard. The only person there was a security guard taking a smoking break who did a double-take at their approach but otherwise simply tipped her hat as they passed by.

Fortunate all around, if terrible protocol. The museum was lucky he hadn't been trying to steal anything.

It took less than two minutes to get to the parking lot and less than thirty seconds to get Matilda and Zeus into the car MII had sent for them. The Significant aegis in the backseat buckled Matilda in while giving Augustine a slightly surprised look.

"Mr. Harrison," she said. "Mr. Montgomery didn't tell us to expect you. Did he use a separate exit?"

"It's me, Rachael," Augustine said in his own voice, closing the door before she could react.

The door and window were both reinforced against gunfire. The glass was tinted to make line of sight and photographs difficult. Once the door was shut, Matilda and Zeus were safe.

Of course Augustine was still completely exposed. Anyone could take this opportunity to shoot him in the back, if they'd somehow narrowed in on this face as a target. The tinted windows didn't matter, he knew Rachael would be glaring at him through the glass and calculating whether to blow their cover by calling up a shield. He moved to the front passenger seat as quickly as possible so she wouldn't be tempted.

His driver, Joseph, pulled away from the curb as soon as Augustine was in the seat.

He turned around. "Matilda, you did very well."

"Sir," Rachael said. "Please put your seat belt on."

Augustine ignored her. Matilda had her hands clasped and looked quite pale. Zeus had curled into a tight ball so he would sort of fit on the seat without squishing her. He'd put his chin on her leg - which meant his entire head was covering her lap - and was nudging her hands.

"Everything's all right," Augustine assured her. He let the illusion of Cornelius fade into his own regular face, trying to go slowly enough that it wouldn't startle Matilda. Or Zeus, who didn't move as Augustine's face changed but whose pupils did widen to take in the transition. "We're out. We have friends with us. We're safe, and there's nothing to worry about. As soon as we're out of the car, we'll call your father. He'll be very proud of you."

Matilda put one small hand on Zeus's head. The car turned onto the road. "Are we going home?"

The reason Augustine had been called to emergency babysit was so the Harrison house could be empty while Cornelius did some job he hadn't been able to tell Augustine about. It couldn't be a routine case because if it had been, Matilda would have been with Diana or Blake. And Cornelius's voice had been tense both when he'd called and when Augustine had come to pick Matilda up.

Even without that, Cornelius sending Zeus instead of Bunny would have told Augustine to be concerned. They couldn't go back to the house. Not until Cornelius cleared it. And they also couldn't go back to his own house until his people cleared it. MII itself would be a target as well, so…

"No," he said. "We're going to go to Nevada and Rogan's house, although Nevada is at work with your father."

"Okay," Matilda said. She absently began scratching behind one of Zeus's ears. His eyes fell half-shut. Augustine thought he heard purring. "You should wear your seat belt," Matilda told him.

"Sir," Rachael said again.

Augustine reluctantly turned to face the front of the car. He buckled himself in. They hit the highway, and he called Rogan to warn him that they were on their way.

***

_"Augustine? Is everything okay?"_

"Matilda, say hello to your father."

"Hi Daddy," Matilda said. She was kneeling on the couch next to Augustine and had leaned over to speak directly into the phone. "Rogan said I could hold the baby if she wakes up and if I sit on the couch and if I am very careful and if Zeus promises to stay on the floor."

The other end of the line was quiet for a moment. Not making a video call had been the correct decision, Augustine thought.

 _"That sounds nice, Matilda,"_ Cornelius said. Even with him on speaker it was impossible to hear anything in the background. He must be safe, because he'd answered the phone, but Augustine had no idea where he might be or what might be going on. _"Can you give Augustine the phone back, please? I need to speak to him."_

"Okay," Matilda said. She slid off the couch, picked up her tablet, and went to sit by Zeus on the other side of the room.

Augustine turned off the speaker. "Matilda, I'll be back in a moment."

This did not warrant an _okay._ Matilda nodded at him. When he walked past her, she was showing Zeus a game designed for housecats. "See?" she said, and poked a cartoon fish as it bubbled up from a pond. Zeus, whose head was as large as the tablet and who would probably have broken it if he'd tried taking a swipe, twitched his whiskers.

"I should tell you that I'm in a hallway and this area is not private," Augustine said, once he had shut the door to the room behind him. There was no one in the hall at present but it was Rogan's house. He had to assume that someone was listening in.

_"Augustine, why are you at Rogan's?"_

All right. He'd wanted Matilda to join the call quickly so that Cornelius wouldn't worry. Clearly, he was still worried.

"The first thing you should know is that Matilda is completely safe."

 _"You are at Rogan's,"_ Cornelius said, as if that was self-explanatory.

"There is… a small threat on my life at the moment," Augustine said. Into Cornelius's silence, he explained, "It was unexpected. I absolutely would not have agreed to take Matilda if I had anticipated this. My security people alerted me to the issue before there was any incident and I got Matilda out as quickly as possible. I brought her to Rogan's because there's no reason for these people to follow me here. Rogan is home, and can keep Matilda while I resolve things."

There was a sound from the phone. It must have been background noise because Cornelius didn't speak as if he'd made any sound. _"Does resolving things mean leaving the house?"_

Augustine looked at the wall. There were no visible cameras, or microphones, but he had an uncomfortable sense that if Bug wasn't currently watching this he shortly would be.

"Once I'm gone there will be no target here, and you won't have to worry about safely picking Matilda up when you're done."

_"Nevada is nearly finished here. We're coming straight back once she's through. Please do not leave the house."_

"I don't know that staying is the best idea."

 _"I have full faith in Rogan's security,"_ Cornelius said, which made Augustine shut his eyes. _"Please stay until I get there, Augustine."_

"Matilda is safe here."

_"I would feel better if you stayed with her."_

A door opened. He looked down the hall to see that Rogan had come back from wrapping up the meeting they'd interrupted with their arrival. Rogan cocked his head to one side and held his hand out as he approached.

"I promise I won't leave Matilda," Augustine murmured. Then, louder, "Rogan wants to talk to you."

"All of them are fine," Rogan said into the phone, unnecessarily. The pause as he listened to whatever it was Cornelius said in response could only have been a moment or so, but felt like an eternity, especially when the next thing Rogan said was, "Yeah."

Then he hung up.

"Excuse me," Augustine said, staring. "That was my call."

"Harrison had to go," Rogan said. He was still holding the phone, though he didn't resist when Augustine reached over and took it back. Leaving an unlocked phone in Rogan's hand was a bad idea. "He said you were trying to get yourself killed."

"Do you have fun lying to me because you can't with Nevada?"

Rogan looked at him like he was stupid. "You're not leaving."

Augustine sighed. He was starting to develop a headache. He could feel it, behind his left eye. "No, I told him that I wouldn't. Not until he returns." He waved Rogan off when Rogan opened his mouth. "I believe it would be safer for Matilda if I left, but I understand his point of view."

Rogan's expression went flat. "Are you telling me you don't think I can keep my own home secure?"

"Of course not, that isn't what I meant." Augustine resisted the urge to take his glasses off and pinch the bridge of his nose. "I need to update Matilda and then I will need a surveillance-free room to make some additional phone calls. Is that possible?"

"In your scenario, were you picturing me justifying to Harrison why you left in the middle of babysitting? Because I would not take that fall for you," Rogan said. "Plus, I control the gate. It was never going to open until Nevada and Harrison were back."

"I am also going to need some aspirin," Augustine muttered, under his breath. He turned and went back into the sitting room.

Once Matilda had been updated that her father would call again when he was on his way, and that Augustine would be back as soon as possible, Rogan showed him to a room he promised was Bug-free. Since it was basically a closet with a chair in it, and a low shelf instead of a desk, Augustine was inclined to believe him.

Still, he was careful in his conversation with his office. There were certain precautions that needed to be made. People he wanted escorted home or offsite. Surveillance that needed to be stepped up. He also arranged for Rachael to rejoin the tactical team. She would be displeased, but she'd go, and Joseph would be the best person to drive her. Rogan would have to keep any comments about the gates to himself. There was no point in depriving his team of two of their best members if he was going to be sitting inside doing nothing.

Nothing except, lastly, calling his mother. It went as well as could be expected. He sat through being chastised for allowing an elemental to escape detection long enough to pose an actual threat.

_"And where are you now? You aren't at your house, and I know you aren't on your way here."_

The pain behind his eye had increased. He took off his glasses and set them on the shelf in front of the chair so he could rub his hand over his face. If he went back to the sitting room while he waited for an update from his tactical team, perhaps Matilda wouldn't say anything if he sat on the couch and shut his eyes for a few minutes.

"I'm at Rogan's."

_"...That's certainly a choice, dear."_

"Matilda Harrison was in my care this afternoon. I made the most expedient choice available to ensure her safety. I'll be leaving as soon as her father returns."

_"Ah. That explains it."_

He frowned and lifted his hand from his face, as if looking at his phone would provide some kind of answer. It did not. He just watched the call timer add seconds, one after the other. "Mother, what is that supposed to mean?"

_"Only that this is the third time in the past year you've mentioned Matilda, and I have yet to be introduced to her father."_

"Cornelius is a friend. You haven't met all of my friends," Augustine told the wall, raising the phone back to his ear. "And I am very busy."

_"Of course you are, dear. Do call me when this situation is under control."_

"As soon as I can."

***

Cornelius walked into the room at a clip and came to an abrupt halt when Zeus lurched up to dart around his legs. For a moment Augustine thought he was going to tip over, but he reached down to place his hand on Zeus's head. Zeus leaned into the touch, apparently bracing Cornelius. Given his size, he couldn't actually wind a figure-eight between Cornelius's ankles, but he did walk in circles for a moment.

"Daddy!" Matilda clambered down from the couch, where she'd been reading a book while Augustine scrolled through email on his phone.

She ran quickly enough that she bumped right into Zeus's head. Zeus let out an incongruous squeak of a meow and dropped down to the floor so Matilda could lean over him and hug Cornelius. Cornelius hugged her back. He did not tell Zeus to get off his feet.

Augustine watched them from the couch.

"Are you okay, Matilda?" Cornelius asked. There was tension in his shoulders, in his eyes. But not in the way that he had his arm around Matilda's shoulders.

"Yes. We didn't get to see the whole exhibit but Augustine said we could go back again another day."

"The exhibit?"

"We went to the art museum," Augustine explained.

"All… of you?" Cornelius asked. A couple different expressions were trying to claim his face. The one that won was a smile, because Matilda took his hand in hers. Then he crouched, nudging Zeus out of the way, and gave her a two-armed hug. "I know it must have been scary," he said.

"About that," Augustine said. "I had to use magic to make a discreet exit from the museum."

Cornelius looked at him, then at Matilda.

"Zeus didn't want to be a dog," Matilda said. "So Augustine was you."

"Oh. Did he do a good impression?" Cornelius's voice sounded strange.

Augustine should have taken the nondescript white pills Bug had offered him, instead of the aspirin from Rogan's desk. It felt like someone was trying to drive a spike through the corner of his eye. He tried catching Cornelius's eye, but Cornelius was focused on his daughter.

"Umm," Matilda said. "I guess."

Augustine schooled his face into something blank by the time Cornelius turned to look at him. Cornelius did not. Cornelius made one small attempt to bite the corner of his mouth before letting one of those easy smiles bloom across his face. The tension that had been in his shoulders evaporated. The anxiety in his eyes was gone.

Augustine thought, _Oh, good,_ and then immediately locked a steel door over that line of thought.

"The museum lady believed him."

"She did," Augustine said, as Cornelius pressed a fist to his mouth and laughed into it. "It was an effective exit."

Since this seemed to be the end of this line of conversation, Augustine rose to his feet. He tucked his phone into his jacket. Cornelius said something to Matilda about needing to talk to him, and then he got briefly distracted by scratching behind Zeus's ears. Augustine was already in the hallway by the time Cornelius had freed himself. He turned around to see Cornelius gently closing the door to the sitting room.

The two of them were the only ones in the hallway.

Still. "This isn't a private area," he said.

"Then let's find one," Cornelius said. When Augustine hesitated, his eyebrows went up. "You wore my face. I get fifteen minutes."

The closet seemed larger with two people in it. Before Augustine would have said he barely fit. But apparently, with two people, there was space for Cornelius to lean against the shelf-desk and for Augustine to rest against the door.

Sitting in the chair would be awkward. So he didn't.

Cornelius crossed his arms over his chest for a second. Then he moved one hand up to cover his mouth, briefly, and then he said, "You took Zeus to the museum with you."

"I called the director before we went. She assured me that Zeus accompanying Matilda would be no issue. Why are you looking at me like that?"

They should have stayed in the hallway. It would have been less awkward. Less private, but if this was the topic of conversation, then privacy wasn't the tantamount concern.

"You called the museum director."

"I wasn't going to take Zeus in without ensuring it wouldn't cause a scene."

Cornelius asked, his voice carefully inflectionless, "Did you ever consider not taking the creature from another dimension to the art museum?"

This had not been what Augustine had anticipated Cornelius being upset about. It wasn't as if, during other afternoons, Augustine hadn't taken Matilda to lunch. He didn't see a material difference between having Bunny with Matilda at a restaurant and having Zeus with her at the museum. Matilda's magic was strong, for all it only came from one parent. It would most likely develop further in the future. In the present she had admirable control of it. And Cornelius himself not infrequently had Zeus with him in public. Quietly adding to the Harrisons' reputation for being able to control Zeus was, as Augustine had been told, a current family chore.

"I don't see why Matilda should have had to sit inside all day just because she had an unusual companion animal with her. Besides, Zeus behaved himself perfectly well. What did you think we were going to do all afternoon?"

"I thought she would sit in your office and read, Augustine. That's why I packed two books with her."

"Oh." There was nothing to look at except the door, which he was leaning against. Cornelius was watching his face. He cleared his throat. "I didn't think it would be an issue. You said you took Zeus to her school recently."

"I did," Cornelius said.

"If… I overstepped." Augustine paused and corrected himself. "I overstepped," he said, plainly. He wasn't family. It wasn't his chore. "I apologize. Matilda never would have been in danger if we had stayed in."

Cornelius blinked. "That's not what I was trying to say."

"Oh," Augustine said, again. He wanted to take his glasses off and shut his eyes. He did not do either of these things.

"You realize most people are afraid of Zeus," Cornelius said.

"Your sister walks around with two panthers."

"That's not…"

Cornelius unfolded his arms and took a step forward. The room seemed small again, because he hadn't moved much and yet his hand was on Augustine's shoulder. He didn't dig his fingers in, but he did cup Augustine's shoulder with his palm. Augustine might as well have been rooted to the floor.

Blue eyes seized his.

"Augustine, I - I _like_ that you felt comfortable enough to take Matilda out today, even though she had Zeus with her. I didn't know what I was going to do if you hadn't been available. Besides my family and Nevada, I don't have anyone else I feel comfortable leaving Zeus with." His hand slid from Augustine's shoulder to curl across the back of his neck. Which meant his fingers were on Augustine's bare skin. Cornelius's hand was warm. His eyes softened.

"That's… Thank you," Augustine said, struggling not to move, in case Cornelius decided to let go of him. "I'm gratified you have such confidence in me. Especially since I didn't think Zeus liked me that much."

"He can tell you're not a cat person," Cornelius said. "But cats like that. It means you don't bother them."

"I suppose there's logic to that."

Augustine wondered if Cornelius realized he'd started moving his thumb back and forth across Augustine's neck. He wondered if Cornelius could feel his pulse hammering in his throat. Then he was funneling all his concentration into holding still, because Cornelius leaned forward and touched their foreheads together. It was impossible to see the room past him anymore, but it felt like the space had shrunk. Augustine drew in an uneven breath.

"When you called and said someone was trying to kill you, and that you were leaving, I-" Cornelius stopped. Leaned back slightly. He left his hand on Augustine's neck. "You understand why I asked you to stay here, right?"

For some reason Augustine's hands felt heavy. They hung at his sides. There was nothing else to do with them. Nowhere else to put them.

"I thought it would be safest for Matilda if I left and removed the target from the house," he said. "But I understand. Rogan's security is excellent and keeping Matilda company was more important."

Cornelius gave him a small, unhappy smile. "I would be really upset if you got killed, Augustine," he said, soft.

Oh. Augustine didn't lean into Cornelius's grip, because he still didn't want to startle him into dropping it, but. But Cornelius's hand had tightened on his neck, just slightly. So it was almost as if he'd been able to settle into the hold.

"I will endeavour to do my best to stay alive, then."

"You had better."

Was it his imagination, or was Cornelius looking at his mouth?

There wasn't the chance to find out, because Augustine's phone rang and Cornelius drew his hand away. Augustine's pulse dropped abruptly. The room felt bigger again. It had been his imagination, of course it - of course it had been. There was nothing here.

At least he had something to do with his hands, now. He pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced at the screen.

"I'm sorry, I have to take this."

"I'll be with Matilda," Cornelius said.

They did an awkward spin around each other so Augustine was away from the door and Cornelius could step back into the hallway. Augustine watched the door close and slowly sank into the chair. He put his glasses down on the shelf-desk, covered his eyes with his hand, and answered the phone.

There was an uncomfortable knot in his chest that he couldn't push down.

***

In the chaos of learning that there had been a direct hit on his car, which someone else had driven away from the museum parking lot after they'd left, Augustine forgot to tell Cornelius he was leaving.

Eventually he did think to himself that Cornelius would be upset about that, but it was around the time he was also working to project an empty alleyway to three different security cameras.

It wasn't that the work was that much effort. It was more that the air still smelled of ozone from Joseph's fight with the elemental and that MII's cleanup crew was rushing to make the alley as clean as Augustine's projection. Which he had to make sure none of them saw or they wouldn't be able to do their jobs. He would have much preferred to lure the elemental mage to somewhere more private than this industrial area on the outskirts of Houston, but in the time available it had been the best option.

He did take a moment to check the time and lament how much of his day this unfortunate incident had eaten up. Tomorrow, too, since he would need to speak to MII's lawyers and to the police. Looking at his phone made him think about Cornelius, too.

Ah. He'd have to - He'd have to add Cornelius to the list of people to call, when he was home.

"Are you all right, sir?"

"It's simply been a long day, Rachael. Thank you for your assistance," he said, reflexively. "You and Joseph both should take a day off. We'll arrange your interviews with the police later, if necessary."

Joseph looked up from where he'd been giving his statement to a lawyer. "We'll drive you home first, sir."

There was a reason he paid them to do what they did. "As soon as the team is finished here."

When they had seen him safely through his front door (and swept his house, and then finally left), Augustine hung his jacket up in his closet. He put his glasses on his nightstand. Sat on the edge of his bed with his phone in his hands.

The call with his mother was short. She put his brother and sister on the phone in turn. He off-handedly mentioned that he'd been at the art museum earlier and his sister informed him that he'd be taking the both of them to see the magnetic sculpture exhibit that Friday, when they had a half-day. Augustine did not tell her that he already knew she'd been with her school. He agreed to be there to pick them up at noon.

He texted Rogan. _All's well._ There was no reply, but the message did flip from _delivered_ to _read._

Then he took a shower. The edges of his headache finally started to bleed away underneath the hot water. It was nice, except that it let him concentrate on the knot in his chest that had never really unraveled. Part of him was tempted to wait under the water until the shower ran cool. He wanted to sit down more, though. Breathe until his chest felt right again. He also knew what kind of water heater he had bought for this house, and cold water would be a long wait.

His phone told him he'd missed a call and had two texts.

Cornelius's read, _Please call me back._ Rogan's read, _Harrison's mad. I'm not fixing it for you._

Augustine read both of them several times.

He texted Rogan with, _Are you afraid of Cornelius?_ and then swiped over to his contacts to dial Cornelius's number.

It connected just as he received a reply from Rogan. _No, but you might want to be._

 _"Rogan called to tell me he heard from you,"_ Cornelius said, with no follow-up.

It was clear enough without clarification. Rogan had called and Augustine had not. The tension that had been in Cornelius's voice this morning when he'd phoned to ask about dropping Matilda off was back.

"That phone call I received was urgent enough that I had to leave immediately," Augustine said. Because Cornelius could not see him, he allowed himself to lay back against his bed. The remnants of his headache pulsed behind his left eye, and he laid his arm across his face. "I apologize for not informing you and Matilda that I was leaving. Is she all right?"

Cornelius inhaled. _"She had Edwina,"_ he said, referring to the raccoon, _"remove all the magnets from the refrigerator so she could work on them in her bedroom. She's complaining they don't work like the magnets from the museum."_

"My apologies, again."

 _"I can tell you're smiling,"_ Cornelius said. He did not sound upset about it. _"Matilda told me that she saw a mini-magnet set in the museum gift shop."_

"That's impressive considering we did not go into the museum gift shop," Augustine said. More of his headache faded. The bed was cool compared to the heat he'd soaked in from the shower. "My sister's ordered me to take them to the museum on Friday. I can pick Matilda up a set if you'd like."

Cornelius took a moment to reply. Probably, one of the animals had come through the room. Whichever room he was in. _"How is your family doing?"_

"The mage was only after me. They're fine."

 _"Are_ you _okay? Did you - Did you get hurt?"_

"I'm also fine. My people handled it, he didn't touch me," Augustine murmured. He thought about the warmth of Cornelius's hand on the back of his neck. The knot in his chest tightened. He ignored it, the way he'd been ignoring it for years. He was good at ignoring things that couldn't be helped. "I shouldn't have waited to call you. I apologize for that, too."

 _"You could make it up to me,"_ Cornelius said, his voice quiet.

Suddenly it was like Augustine was beneath the showerhead again. He lifted his arm from his eyes. Above him the ceiling fan spun lazily on its lowest setting. If it was doing anything to cool the air, Augustine couldn't feel it.

"Did you… have something in mind?" he asked.

He had absolutely no idea whether his voice sounded normal. He didn't like not knowing. He had worked carefully on sounding normal around Cornelius. Not just over the past year, when he'd started mentioning the Harrisons to his mother. Since before that. Cornelius had already been married when they'd met. That would have put him safely off-limits even if his magic wouldn't have made any kind of emotional connection impossible. Even if Augustine, generally, did not indulge himself in emotional connections.

The knot in his chest pointed out that the one he had ended up indulging himself in anyway was the one guaranteed by all laws of magic not to be returned.

_"Sometimes Matilda asks about your siblings and I don't have much to tell her."_

"I didn't." Augustine hesitated. The ceiling fan continued to spin. "I didn't know that."

 _"How would you feel,"_ Cornelius asked, almost as hesitantly, _"about us meeting you at the museum?"_

Augustine's immediate reaction was that his mother was going to kill him for not inviting her as well. That was largely swept away by another rush of heat, this time over his face, which he was grateful Cornelius could not see. The knot in his chest actually loosened. It had the unfortunate side effect of being so surprising that it took him a moment to breathe in again.

"That would be nice," he said. "Although I would advise not bringing Zeus."

 _"I was not planning on bringing Zeus,"_ Cornelius said. Augustine could hear him smiling.

It was stupid, he thought, after the call had ended. Stupid to feel better than before it had started. His headache was gone. The ache in his chest had lessened, and the longer he lay on the bed watching the ceiling fan, the more the unsettling rush of heat left him, too.

This wasn't something he could have. He'd gotten used to that. He just hadn't quite gotten used to how desperately he clung to scraps.

Eventually he sent a message to Rogan, right before he turned off the lights for the night. _Cornelius was not mad._

_Could've fooled me._

***

"Is someone trying to kill you again?" Rogan asked.

Augustine did not look up from his phone. "Yes," he said, flat. "That's the only reason I come to your house. It saves me a fortune on security."

He couldn't see the look on Rogan's face. He imagined it was something between a laugh and a scowl, judging from Rogan's voice when he responded. "This is the second time this week you've been here. Did you drop by just to lean against my wall?"

"I'm waiting for Cornelius."

There was such a long pause that he closed his email and lifted his head. Rogan was staring at him, both eyebrows slightly raised, his arms crossed over his chest. Someone must have told him that Augustine was here, because Augustine hadn't sent a message.

It was Friday morning and Augustine and Cornelius would be going to his siblings' school together to retrieve them. It would save on driving and give the children some time to acclimate to each other without being in public, in the crowd at the museum. Cornelius had Matilda with him, but had also had to spend his morning filling out paperwork with Nevada.

"What?" Augustine asked, when Rogan continued not saying anything. He put his phone away.

Rogan leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. He looked Augustine up and down, and then unfolded his arms to poke Augustine in the shoulder. "Hmm. Actually you."

"Would you like to get one of your canine units in here to confirm that?"

"No." Rogan leaned against the wall, too, the expression on his face unreadable. He did that a lot. It was like the man put a lock on his face. Augustine was familiar enough with the technique not to bother trying to pry it open. It wasn't worth the effort, and most of the time Rogan ended up telling him what he was thinking about anyway. "Work?"

"If you must know, we're taking the children to the art museum."

"Children?"

"Matilda, Mariana, and Leander."

Rogan's mouth opened and shut. Augustine noticed there was a washcloth slung over his shoulder and that it had tiny yellow ducks embroidered on it. There was a tiny white radio on his hip, also with a duck printed on it. The baby must be sleeping.

"You're… introducing him to your family," Rogan said, at last.

Augustine rolled his eyes. "Please. It isn't like that. My mother is not coming. The children simply wanted to see the current exhibit, and we decided we might as well go as a group."

Some of the shielding on Rogan's face had faded. There was a slight tinge of - of something, in his eyes. "Hmm."

"Do you have a point you'd like to share with the class?"

"Who's the last … friend you took to meet your sister and brother?" Rogan asked. He held up a hand when Augustine rolled his eyes again. "I'm just saying. This isn't your typical date."

"It's not a date," Augustine protested.

"He must have asked you," Rogan mused. "You'd never make the first move."

"Are you getting enough sleep? I know how it must be, with an infant. Perhaps you should go take a nap. I think you're delirious."

Rogan grinned at him. It revealed a flash of teeth. If it was calculated to be intimidating, it didn't work. The washcloth with the ducks definitely wasn't helping things. "Oh," he said. "You've got it bad."

"Shut up."

"I think you forget that I've known you since high school. I remember your first crush."

"I am not in love with Cornelius," Augustine protested, again. He took a short breath and smoothed his voice out. "We're taking our families to the museum. That's all there is to it. I understand you have few hobbies, but this is something that families on good terms with each other do. You'll find yourself doing the same shortly enough."

"Yeah, yeah," Rogan said. He stepped away from the wall and shrugged. "You jumped from _crush_ to _in love with_ pretty fast there."

"Rogan."

"You have to work harder than that to out-menace me, Pancakes."

Loud footsteps behind them made them both turn toward the hallway.

Nevada walked toward them, a three-ring binder stuck under one arm. "Hi!" she said, waving. "Cornelius will be down in a minute. He's just getting Matilda ready."

Augustine spared a moment to be grateful that Cornelius hadn't overheard any of their bickering. He would've had to throttle Rogan and he would hate to leave an infant without a father. Also, Nevada would have been upset. He assumed the gratitude showed on his face more than the contemplation of murder, because Nevada smiled as she came to a halt at his side.

There was a crackle from the baby monitor. Rogan kissed Nevada on the cheek, waved at Augustine, and disappeared up a stairwell.

"Are you all right?" Augustine found himself asking a second later, because the way Nevada was peering up at him was … worrying.

She made a noncommittal noise and pulled the three-ring binder to her chest. The cover was blank, no hint to what might be inside it. Probably something to do with the case she and Cornelius had been working on earlier this week. She said, "Cornelius mentioned that you were going to the museum today."

"We are. I took Matilda earlier this week, but we didn't get to see everything."

Nevada regarded him for another moment. When he glanced over her shoulder to see whether Cornelius was coming yet, she shifted her weight.

"I overheard some of your conversation with Rogan," she said.

Before he could stop himself, he grimaced. "You heard him being absurd."

"Augustine." Nevada hesitated, then turned and rested her shoulders against the wall next to him, so she wasn't looking him straight in the eye. He supposed she considered that kind. It was the same thing Rogan had done, so it didn't quite set him at ease. "I like Cornelius," she said. "I like you, too, even though you make it difficult sometimes."

He smiled. Glanced at the stairs again. Where were they?

"If someone tells me something they believe is true, even if it's factually incorrect, it feels true to me," Nevada said. "But if they just _want_ to believe it's true, if they don't actually, totally, one hundred percent believe it, it clicks as a lie."

He sighed. "It's not a date," he said, quietly, just in case Matilda and her father were about to tumble down the stairs.

"I didn't overhear you talking about whether it was a date," Nevada said, just as quietly. "You told Rogan something else."

They didn't look at each other.

Augustine continued watching the stairs, and Nevada continued kindly not making eye contact with him.

When footsteps sounded from the stairs, Nevada reached up and squeezed his shoulder. She was gone by the time Cornelius and Matilda came down the steps. Matilda waved at him. In deference to the chill in the air she had an enormous lemon-yellow scarf on. It draped over her shoulders and nearly trailed the floor.

Cornelius saw him and smiled.

"Hello," Augustine said, smiling back. "Ready to go?"

***

The museum was bright and airy this afternoon. The magnetic sculpture exhibit was in a wing with lots of windows, and Augustine was taking a moment to appreciate the feeling of sunlight without the cold autumn breeze accompanying it. All the better knowing that his people had discreetly arrived an hour earlier on the off chance that, for some reason, he needed to sneak out of the building again.

"Mr. … Cornelius. Is your daughter feeling all better, then?"

Cornelius turned around before Augustine could intercept him. The museum employee from the other day, Alie, must have recognized Cornelius's face.

Or perhaps she had spotted Matilda with Mariana and Leander. Augustine's brother was attempting to do a handstand like the sculpture in front of them. Augustine knew that his brother was more than capable of neatly pulling off such a maneuver, but he had failed two attempts so far. His sister was rolling her eyes, but Matilda was shyly giggling behind her hands.

"My daughter?" Cornelius asked. He met Augustine's eyes and the corner of his mouth twitched. "Yes. She's feeling well."

Alie grinned at him. Then she cleared her throat and leaned forward slightly. "Did… did you bring Zeus today?"

"I thought it would be best if Zeus stayed home today," Cornelius said.

"Oh." Alie looked briefly disappointed. That was impressive. Whether she had been hoping to be brave in front of her coworkers or excited about the prospect of seeing the tiger-hound again, it was impressive. "Oh, well. I'll go say hello to…"

"Matilda," Cornelius prompted.

Alie nodded. "Thank you. I hope you enjoy the exhibit. And you too, sir?"

"Augustine," Augustine said, since everyone else was using first names.

Alie beamed at them. "Pleased to meet you. Your children are delightful. I love when the kids get excited about the moving sculptures," she said, turning around. She walked over to where Leander had finally completed his handstand, which of course meant he immediately fell onto his back (Augustine could hear Matilda's gasp from where they stood).

"You would be surprised how often people make that assumption. Do I really look old enough to be their father?" Augustine asked, sighing.

"Do I?" Cornelius asked, raising his eyebrows. "I think she meant the plural you, there. Our children."

Augustine felt his face grow hot.

"Can I ask you something?" Cornelius edged closer to him and dropped his voice.

It meant that Augustine could absolutely not move or turn away or call Alie back and demand to know whether she'd meant that she thought all five of them were here together. Not that they _weren't,_ it was just.

Cornelius tilted his head. "I've always wondered why you let it show when your face turns red. Couldn't you just mask it?"

This was not happening to him. It wasn't. And since it wasn't, that made it easy to answer, because he would not have to think about it again.

"I could," Augustine said, which made Cornelius raise his eyebrows again. "But the level of effort required to project a constantly placid appearance is only worth it if I'm trying to maintain stealth. A high-quality illusion retains natural features. It's unnerving to speak to someone who never blinks, or whose pupils don't react to changes in light, or whose - who never displays reactions," he said, editing _whose emotions never show on his face_ out at the last possible moment.

"That makes sense," Cornelius reasoned. "But you don't need the glasses, do you?"

"I find the glasses useful," Augustine said, which was not an answer but did earn him a satisfied expression from Cornelius. He looked over at his siblings, who had wandered with Alie over to another sculpture. Matilda walked between Mariana and Leander. He added, "And I'm used to them."

"So am I."

Augustine blinked. Cornelius was watching the children, though, and not looking at him.

At the base of a sculpture that looked to Augustine like so many jagged lines of lightning, with such delicate, thin pieces of metal that it shivered slightly when too many children ran across the room at once, Alie crouched down. She made several sweeping motions with her hands while she spoke. It was difficult to see the expressions on all of the children's faces, but Mariana watched her intently.

When there was a break in Alie's speech, Mariana cupped her hands together in front of herself. Several streaks of flashing light pulsed in the air above her palms before resolving themselves into thin, brittle-looking lines of silver.

Alie grinned, gestured at the sculpture, and said something. Mariana gave her a tiny smile before allowing her illusion to dissolve.

"I know you've already had a long day," Cornelius murmured, still watching. "But do you have plans for dinner?"

"I don't - No, I don't," Augustine heard himself say. Which was remarkable because he didn't think the speech center of his brain was currently engaged. Which in and of itself was ridiculous. It wasn't like he had never eaten dinner with Cornelius before.

Cornelius smiled. "Would you like to?"

His mother would be expecting them home soon.

"Yes," he said. "That would be nice. What time?"

"Six?"

"I'll be there."

Cornelius touched a hand to Augustine's back and said, "Let's go see what our children are learning."

And Augustine couldn't protest, because Cornelius was already crossing the room.

***

"What did you get up to with your brother today?" his mother asked, fondly, hugging Leander as he ran through the front door.

Augustine paused just beyond the doorway. Lucilla Montgomery no longer lived in the house he'd grown up in. She hadn't been able to stand the master bedroom any longer, and the old house had been upgraded to match too many of his father's preferences. The new house greeted visitors with a two-story entryway capped by a skylight. For a peaceful moment Augustine felt like he was still in the museum.

Then his brother said, "Augustine took us to the museum with Matilda and Cornelius," and all Augustine felt was regret that he had locked the front door already.

"Silly me, at work all afternoon," Lucilla said, looking up at him with sharp green eyes. "Did you have a good time? Did you take any pictures?"

He opened his mouth to say _yes_ and _no,_ respectively, except Mariana answered first.

"Yes," she said, holding up her phone.

"Let's sit down and look at them. You can tell me all about your afternoon."

Both of his siblings were old enough now to prickle at the idea of sitting down for a quiet family moment, but Mariana had no problem hopping onto the couch and scrolling through her photos with their mother. Leander declared that he'd been there and didn't need to see them, throwing himself into an armchair with a handheld video game instead. Normally Augustine would have gently prodded his brother to put the game aside for a few minutes but for now he let it be.

He also excused himself to the kitchen to fetch tea for everyone. When he came back with a glass pitcher from the refrigerator Mariana waved her phone in his face.

"Let your brother finish," Lucilla said, gently pulling Mariana's hand back.

"I'm going to send this one to you," Mariana said, poking at the screen.

Lucilla sighed. She took the glass of iced tea Augustine handed her. "Thank you, dear."

It would have been a good moment to sit down, but he returned the half-full pitcher to the kitchen first. He was being childish. There was no avoiding his mother. Not in her own home.

His phone buzzed. He picked it up reflexively, but it was just the photo from his sister. A selfie of her and Matilda crouched in front of one of the sculptures. He slowly walked back toward the family room while saving the photo so he could send it on to Cornelius. In his hand, his phone buzzed again.

He stopped in the middle of the hallway.

Mariana had taken a photo of him and Cornelius. Of Cornelius laughing, and Augustine smiling, and Augustine couldn't remember what he'd been saying because the open affection captured on his own face bore straight into his chest and sat there like a rock.

He tried not to think about Nevada's hand on his shoulder.

"I don't think so," he heard Mariana say in response to some question he hadn't caught. "Augustine didn't kiss him goodbye."

Augustine shut his eyes. It would take a lot of power to become invisible and walk out the front door, and also, his mother would catch him. She would definitely catch him. She would probably catch him? He had snuck out of the house successfully as a teenager, but his siblings had been younger then, and Lucilla busier with them. Probably wasn't definitely. If he used the back door…

…It would be childish, anyway. To sneak out. Lucilla would only track him down later. Best to sit on the couch for half an hour and then use non-specific dinner plans to excuse himself.

***

"Where is everyone?" Augustine asked, surprised to walk through the door and have no eyes looking at him but Cornelius's.

"Upstairs, asleep, or with Matilda," Cornelius said. He shut the door and touched a hand to Augustine's back, between his shoulders, like he had at the museum. Just in passing, as he walked toward the kitchen, but the feel of his hand lingered. "Diana came by an hour ago to pick her up. Zeus and Matilda's cat went with them."

In the kitchen, Augustine noted that the refrigerator magnets had been put back into place.

"What do the panthers think of Zeus?" he asked.

"They treat him like he's another housecat and mostly ignore him. They're the same size and it confuses them that Zeus can roar and purr. Cats can do one or the other, but not both."

Being in the house with no animals following him around was strange. He accepted a glass of wine from Cornelius. The main course was still cooking on the stove, so he leaned against the counter where he would be helpfully out of the way while Cornelius finished.

Or at least he tried to.

"Augustine, you run a multimillion dollar intelligence company. I have faith in your ability to slice strawberries."

"I use knives less often during my day than you would think."

"Try using this one," Cornelius said, handing him a paring knife.

The strawberries were already chilled against his fingertips. Despite his protest about contributing to dinner (or, more specifically, dessert) he _could_ manage chopping fruit. He threw the tops into a small bowl and the berries in another, and after a couple of moments he realized Cornelius was not tending to the fish on the stove. He was leaning with his hip against the counter and his arms crossed. Augustine glanced up, but Cornelius was watching his hands.

He looked back down and kept chopping. "Mariana was very impressed with Matilda's stories about Edwina. She was disappointed I didn't have pictures."

"Does she like raccoons?"

"I expect to shortly be given a presentation about why a raccoon would make a good pet."

"I'm happy to write your counter-presentation."

"I doubt my mother needs much more than _no,_ but that's appreciated."

"As a younger sibling I have to admire Mariana's tactics, though. Before we got too old I did manage to convince Diana to grant me a few favors." Cornelius turned briefly to the stove. There was the scrape of a spatula and the increase of sizzling.

Augustine swept the last of the strawberries into the bowl. "What kind of favors did young Cornelius need?"

The stove clicked silent, the rush of gas fading. Cornelius moved the skillet off the hot burner and the fish onto two plates already laid with rice. "Do you find it hard to imagine me getting into trouble?"

"No," Augustine said, and smiled when Cornelius gave him a sharp look.

"You think you're funny."

"You are smiling at me."

Cornelius walked back over and picked up the bowl of strawberries, plucking out a slice to taste. Because he knew better than to make a fool of himself by watching, Augustine took the moment to wash off the knife. He carefully placed it in the drying rack. When he looked back, Cornelius held another slice up. Not for himself.

Augustine held very still. Apparently his lips had already been parted because when Cornelius extended his hand, Augustine tasted strawberry before he realized he was swallowing it. Cornelius's eyes dipped to his throat.

Then he said, "We should save the rest of dessert for dessert," and put the bowl of strawberries away.

It took Augustine a moment to follow him to the table. For some reason, he felt unsteady.

Dinner was… Dinner. Since it was only the two of them, they ate in the kitchen. The seconds piled onto each other. Minutes passed. Augustine was sure he tasted the food, because he complimented Cornelius on the cooking, but he couldn't have told himself what he tasted. Fish, presumably. Cornelius smiled several more times. Sometimes even in response to something Augustine had said. He did not try to feed Augustine any more food.

Eventually Augustine settled. The alternative was watching Cornelius's mouth for the entire meal, and that was no alternative at all.

"You did not," Cornelius said, staring at him as he put their dishes into the sink.

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be telling the story."

"Don't schools have some kind of … system in place for that kind of thing?"

"If they did, it wasn't good enough to beat me," Augustine said, smirking. He walked back to the table and poured them both a new glass of wine, his hand not shaking in the slightest. "Probably if the secretary had known I was Rogan's friend, she would have been suspicious enough to call Mrs. Rogan herself and catch me, but unlike Rogan I was a well-behaved student. The secretary didn't know my name and had no reason to be surprised that Rogan's mother was picking him up for an appointment."

"You told them you were taking him to 'an appointment.'"

"I may have implied it was a legal issue," Augustine said. He sipped his wine when Cornelius laughed. "No one ever found us out."

"You're sure about that."

"Mrs. Rogan has never summoned me to chastise me for it, so, yes."

Cornelius's face was slightly flushed from laughing and maybe a little bit from the wine. He looked… Augustine indulged himself for a moment. Cornelius looked good. He hadn't touched Augustine and hadn't, as far as Augustine could tell, looked at his throat again, but then Augustine didn't have the top couple buttons on his shirt undone either.

Cornelius looked good, and he smiled as he folded his arm on the table and rested his face against his hand. "It's nice to see you happy."

Augustine startled. "I'm … I'm happy. Generally speaking."

"You get in your own head," Cornelius said. His eyes had gone a little unfocused.

This conversation had turned in an unexpected direction. Augustine had one hand next to his wine, and realized he'd started tracing the base of the glass with one fingertip. That wouldn't help his defense. If there even was a defense to mount.

He ended up saying, trying to keep the - unhappiness? weariness? heartache? - out of his voice, "Sometimes things are serious."

"Yes," Cornelius agreed. Without moving his head, he ran his eyes over Augustine. "I prefer seeing you happy."

Augustine didn't know what to say to that. The pit in his chest was back, a stone at its center. He wanted to look back at his wine. Distract himself with the play of light against the glass and in the liquid. Cornelius was still looking at him, though, blue eyes sharp again. It felt. It felt like it would break something if he looked away. Crack something brittle, fragile. Small.

"I… prefer to see you happy, as well."

The corner of Cornelius's mouth twitched. "Do you?"

The small, fragile, brittle thing might be whatever was left of Augustine's sense of self-preservation. He said, "Yes."

For a minute that was it. Like with the strawberry, the seconds stretched out, tumbled on top of one another, until it had been one moment and then another and then Augustine started to think that was all there would be. Cornelius wanting something. Taking it. Augustine giving.

Although that implied there had been resistance on Augustine's part, and, really, he wasn't fooling himself about that.

Cornelius swallowed and lifted his head from his palm. He unfolded his arm, so his hand was resting on the table, an inch away from Augustine's. His fingers stretched, but he didn't close the distance between them. He could have as easily been reaching for the wine glass at the edge of the table.

He wet his bottom lip and asked, "Would you like to spend the night, Augustine?"

Augustine stared at him.

"I would be happy, knowing you'd be here when I woke up. Safe. With me." Cornelius fidgeted, shifting his weight in his chair. He started to cross his ankles and then sat up straighter instead. On the table, his hand didn't move. "Earlier this week, I had to think about you dying," he said, his voice wavering. He stopped. His eyes finally dropped from Augustine's face. "It was harder than I thought it would be. Not that I've - Not that I've thought about thinking about it, but. You - I had to."

The afternoon at Rogan's took on a different shade in Augustine's memory. Cornelius pressing him to stay in the house. A hand curled over the back of his neck. Cornelius asking if Augustine understood why he'd asked.

Cornelius telling him, flat-out, _I would be really upset if you got killed, Augustine._

And then Augustine leaving without saying goodbye and delaying the overdue check-in because. Because he'd been a coward. And an idiot.

How the man didn't despair of Augustine already, Augustine didn't know.

"I'm not going to get myself killed, Cornelius," he murmured.

Cornelius shook his head. "That's not a promise either of us can make to each other, is it?"

Augustine glanced down.

"You could promise," Cornelius started.

"I could promise," Augustine said, covering Cornelius's hand with his, "to be here in the morning."

Now Cornelius was staring at him. Augustine carefully linked their fingers together, straining not to clutch, not to grasp. There was still a hole in his chest. It felt less like it exposed a rock underneath his ribs than simply exposing the whole of his heart. But, well.

It was too late to go back.

"Yeah?" Cornelius asked. He curled his fingers in against Augustine's.

Augustine squeezed his hand. Felt his own chest tighten. "Yes."

The pressure on his ribs only increased as Cornelius leaned forward. It constricted when, instead of kissing him, Cornelius gently removed his glasses. Since he didn't let go of Augustine he only had one hand to do it, and he went slowly, the temples of the glasses dragging lightly against Augustine's skin.

"I know I said I was used to these," Cornelius said, delicately laying the glasses on the table, "but I don't want to break them."

"That's quite considerate of you."

"I try."

Augustine bent forward, kissing Cornelius while the smile was still on his face.

Cornelius's hand grasped his tight, clutching. His mouth was warm and when his lips parted under Augustine's, Augustine's thoughts briefly went blank. So it was a surprise when Cornelius's free hand came up to curl across the back of his neck. Cornelius tugged him closer. Augustine leaned in, and he could distantly hear Cornelius draw a shuddering breath when their mouths briefly broke apart, but then his own pulse was rushing in his ears and he couldn't hear anything past it at all.

Then one of them knocked Augustine's wine glass over the edge of the table.

They broke apart less briefly, cold red wine splashing across their laps. The glass bounced off Augustine's knee and fell to a cracked heap on the floor.

Cornelius's face was flushed. His lips were wet, and his pupils were wide. Augustine's chest swelled.

"S - Sorry," Cornelius stammered. "I think that was me."

"It could have been worse. It could've been the bottle," Augustine said. He hoped he didn't look like he could barely hear himself over his own heartbeat. "These slacks may be a loss, though."

"We should run them through the laundry, before it sets." Cornelius stood, still holding his hand. Augustine stood too. "There's hydrogen peroxide in the medicine cabinet."

They were halfway up the stairs when Augustine asked, "So, what would you like me to wear while the laundry is going?"

Cornelius choked. Augustine had adjusted by then, his pulse slow and less frantic, and he was sure he heard Cornelius choke. But they were still holding hands and Cornelius was on the step above him, so he couldn't see the man's face.

"I'm sure I have something that will fit you."

"It seems like you put some planning into this. The evening, not spilling the wine," Augustine said. They hit the upper floor. Again, it was strange not to have any of the animals greeting them, but he had to assume they were all tucked away in bedrooms that were not the master. "Did you plan for clothes for me to sleep in?"

Cornelius cleared his throat, pulling him toward the laundry room. "I would have come up with something."

"You don't have to," Augustine reasoned.

That earned him Cornelius coming to a halt and looking over his shoulder. His eyes skipped down past Augustine's waist, to where red wine stained the thighs of his slacks.

"What am I going to do, disrespect my host's sleeping preferences?" he asked.

"Get in here," Cornelius said, and opened the laundry room door.

A second later Cornelius was undoing the buttons of his shirt and glaring at him when he said, "I don't think there's wine on this."

Tentatively resting his hands on Cornelius's hips got him another kiss, though, and a Cornelius too distracted to keep undressing him. To be fair, he was nearly too distracted to be undressed. It was strange not to have his glasses on his face, but it also meant Cornelius could hold his face in both hands and Augustine didn't have to think about the glasses bumping Cornelius's skin. He could concentrate instead on the feel of Cornelius underneath his hands, the way Cornelius opened his mouth and pulled Augustine forward, demanding. The way the earth was not in fact opening to swallow him whole.

Maybe he could have this, after all.

Maybe they could have this.

***

In the morning Cornelius brought the bowl of strawberries to bed, because most of Augustine's clothes were still in the laundry and Cornelius had not offered him any spares.

It was fine. The sheets were soft. The way Cornelius looked at him when he came back into the room made heat curl under his skin. He smiled and patted the empty spot next to himself. Cornelius was careful to put the bowl of strawberries solidly in the middle of his nightstand before climbing back under the covers with Augustine.

"We may have waited too long to soak our clothes," Cornelius said. "I put them in the wash, but leaving them on the laundry room floor overnight might mean more than hydrogen peroxide."

Augustine slid an arm around his waist. Cornelius had put on sweatpants, to go downstairs, but had not put on a shirt. Again, Augustine was indulging himself, but openly now. Cornelius looked good. He looked content. He was also looking at Augustine's own bare chest, which did not hurt.

"I have other slacks," Augustine said. He nodded at the bowl. "I assume you originally had a reason for making me slice those."

"Ice cream. Which I'm not eating for breakfast."

"Afraid I'll tell Matilda?" Augustine asked, keeping his voice light.

Cornelius did not freeze, or wince, or otherwise look guilty or regretful. He pressed a kiss to Augustine's mouth. "No. I'm just an adult, and if I want dessert for breakfast I'm going to make French toast like a reasonable person."

"What would I need to do to convince you to make French toast?"

"Get dressed," Cornelius said, smirking.

"Hmm. Another morning, then."

Augustine watched Cornelius stretch and lay a clothed leg out over his bare one. There was no contradiction. Just Cornelius sliding closer to him. Affirmation that all the moments of last night had indeed tumbled onto one another to bring him to this quiet morning in Cornelius's bed.

"I fed everyone," Cornelius told him, picking the strawberries up. He offered the bowl and Augustine took a slice. "There won't be any enquiries for a while."

"Should I be concerned?"

Cornelius ate three slices of strawberry before he answered. "They aren't used to someone else being here," he finally said. "They aren't used to me smelling like anyone but myself. They've met you, but they know something is different now, and they're going to be curious." He glanced sideways at Augustine. "I don't really know how Zeus is going to react."

That was encouraging.

"I think he knows, or suspects, but that doesn't mean-"

"Wait," Augustine said, swallowing a piece of strawberry. "You think Zeus suspects?"

Cornelius's nose wrinkled. It not an encouraging expression, the way his unsure statement about Zeus's reaction had not been encouraging, but it was… cute. "He can smell things."

Augustine raised an eyebrow and waited.

"I was upset, after." He hesitated. "After you left Rogan's. I pulled it back for Matilda, but Zeus would have known."

Augustine pressed his lips together. He adjusted his hand on Cornelius's hip. He hadn't yet mentioned the exact details of the hit on his car - he'd told Rogan things had _escalated,_ which was as short a descriptor as he'd been able to get to _someone made the pavement rise up and punch my car into an abrupt sinkhole at seventy-five miles per hour in the middle of the highway._

"I am sorry for not telling you. The situation had intensified and I couldn't remain at Rogan's any longer. Being in a rush is not an excuse, but I'll do my best not to repeat it." He shifted his weight. "And I should have called you afterward."

It was Cornelius's turn to wait.

"I didn't know what I was going to say," Augustine admitted. He glanced over at his phone, sitting silent on the nightstand. "Rogan texted to inform me I had erred at about the same time as I missed your call."

Now Cornelius's face went pink. "I… probably said something to him I shouldn't have."

"Really?"

"He caught me in the hall to tell me you were gone, just after you left. I was upset," Cornelius said, only slightly defensively. He mostly appeared embarrassed. "I asked if you snuck out and how you managed to get past Bug and all the rest of the security he'd told me would keep you there."

There were so many responses Augustine should have had to Cornelius questioning Rogan's security to his face, but what he said was, "I could evade Bug if I wanted to."

"I'm sure you could," Cornelius said. He made a move like he was going to eat another strawberry, and then didn't. "Anyway, then Nevada steered me into the kitchen and made me drink one of her juice boxes so I wouldn't say anything else."

Which likely meant that neither Nevada nor Rogan would be surprised when they were inevitably informed of - of whatever he and Cornelius would end up calling this.

Whatever this was.

Whatever this was, besides a surprise to Augustine and apparently no one else, including a tiger-hound from another dimension. Augustine would have felt worse about that, but he thought about what Rogan's expression must have been and whether footage of it would exist and that was enough to raise his spirits.

"I didn't actually tell him I was sorry for that." Cornelius cringed. "The next time I see him, I-"

"No, don't. Let me handle it."

"The fact that you're smiling doesn't make me think you'll be conveying an apology."

Augustine kissed him.

Cornelius gave up and kissed him back.

They did manage to move the bowl of strawberries off the bed before turning it over onto the sheets. Cornelius reached across him to do it, and then shifted himself into Augustine's lap. They stayed like that for several happy minutes. Cornelius bit at his lower lip and suggested removing what remained of Augustine's clothing, which was not much and only took a moment. A moment that spilled into another, piled on, until Cornelius's sweatpants were on the floor and Cornelius was pushing him down onto the bed.

What _this_ was, was Cornelius sliding his hand down Augustine's bare chest and looking like he'd been given something he didn't think he could have. (Augustine knew this, because he'd seen his own face in the mirror when he'd showered last night.)

What _this_ was, was Augustine greedily wrapping his arms around Cornelius and gasping against his throat when Cornelius put his knee firmly down on the mattress and rocked himself along Augustine.

 _This_ was Cornelius cupping Augustine's face in his hands and kissing him. _This_ was Cornelius happy because Augustine was there.

 _This_ was Augustine pulling Cornelius tight against himself and resolving not to let go.

And, shortly, this was the two of them throwing the sheets into the empty washing machine.

Their wet clothes got moved to the dryer and Augustine was granted a loan of flannel pajama bottoms that were slightly too long on him and a white t-shirt that hung loose around his neck. It wasn't what Augustine would have worn for a lazy morning in his own home, but… The way Cornelius looked at him made him not want to give the clothes back, either.

"I'm dressed," he said, touching his hand to Cornelius's arm. Because he could.

"I noticed." Cornelius pressed the button to start the washing machine.

Augustine leaned up very slightly and kissed the side of Cornelius's neck. He smiled at the pleased hum that got him. "You said there would be French toast, if I got dressed."

Cornelius reached back to latch onto his hand. "I did say that."

The rest of the strawberries ended up on the French toast.

Which Augustine ate with a Doberman pinscher, two ferrets, a ferret-badger, and a raccoon watching him from various strategically chosen spots around the kitchen. He didn't ask, but assumed the hawk must be outside peering through the window at him as well.

"Do they approve?" he asked.

Cornelius glanced over as if he had not noticed the audience. Bunny took the opportunity to stand up, walk across the room, and lay his head in Cornelius's lap. Cornelius put his hand down on the dog's head and gently patted his fur. Bunny's tail wagged silently back and forth across the kitchen tile.

"They're pleased," Cornelius said. "Although Bunny is used to sleeping in the bedroom with me, and is waiting for his bed to be moved back."

Augustine decided not to comment on that. "I'm glad to have passed one inspection."

"Matilda will be pleased, too," Cornelius assured him.

That was reassuring. Augustine had spent enough time with Matilda to know that she liked him, in the way that a child would like a family friend, but it was good to hear Cornelius say it. He leaned back in his chair and said, though, "Still not sure about Zeus?"

"We'll get Zeus to come around," Cornelius said, hooking his ankle around Augustine's, underneath the table.

"That's flattering."

"Are you asking to be flattered?"

"I'm fine." Augustine picked up his coffee. He didn't move his leg. "You should know my mother thinks she should've been introduced to you before now."

"We could fix that," Cornelius said.

"We could."


End file.
